


Scribbled Snippets

by SheWhoWalksUnseen



Category: Monachopsis - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: 1001 ways to watch your friend fall au, AUideas Advent Calendar, Also Ramon is so done with this idiot, Anxiety Attacks, Because I can't really write out characters dying even in an au apparently, Ezra literally doesn't know how to take care of himself in cold weather and it makes me scream, F/F, F/M, Finally Together au, Gen, Gia hates swearing but Nora and Lee do it a lot oops, Hearing Voices, I had WAYYYY too much fun with the last one, I totally believe this is how Lee and Claire find out about their relationship, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lost Cat AU, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Repetitive Dying on Gia's Part, Sleepover AU, Superhuman Au, When Soul Meets Body au, also Gia is scary when she gets mad, also why would you make a bet when you're a ghost? IDK ask the idiot poltergeist, more like "sleepy and sugar high Nora petting her future girlfriend's hair" au, murder in the dark au, the ghost is kinda implied to be Lee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-06 05:35:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8736814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWhoWalksUnseen/pseuds/SheWhoWalksUnseen
Summary: A day in an alternate life of the characters of "Monachopsis".





	1. Just Like a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> All of the prompt fulfillments from AUideas' Advent Calendar challenge go here. All will be concerning my original characters from "Monachopsis", which I am in the process of writing. I own these characters and any plots from the story (not including the main ones for each day of the challenge).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt:
> 
> Character A is a scientist, and they’ve been working on a project that requires a human assistant to get the best results. When Character A’s usual assistant cancels and says that they don’t want to continue with the experiment, Character B readily jumps at the offer to help out Character A. After all, Character A wouldn’t put them in a truly weird or dangerous situation, right?

 The door swung open and Gia flashed her brightest smile up at the man who answered her incessant knocking. "Hi there! I'm Gia, your new assistant!" She stuck out her hand for him to shake, marveling at the callouses on his own.

 

 He blinked down at her for a moment and she took the opportunity to observe the dark bags under his eyes, the even darker eyes that seemed to be boring into her. Despite the mild chill in the air, he was wearing a heavy red turtleneck and stained jeans. Truthfully, he was younger than she had expected; usually a flyer asking for assistants in science projects were the crazy-old-man kind. He appeared to be thirty and judging by his blank reaction and the smell of sulfur reeking from his clothes, he hadn't been expecting a visitor.

 

 After a couple of seconds she realized this might end up an awkward situation if this was the wrong house. Oh. Well. How embarrassing.

 

 "You  _are_ Mr. Lee Diggs, right?" Gia prompted, her smile wavering due to uncertainty.

 

 The name appeared to draw him back to the present and he cleared his throat, opening the door a tad wider. Masking his clear surprise with a thin humorless grin, he accepted her much smaller hand in greeting. "Uh, right. Sorry about that, kid. You weren't exactly...what I was expecting. But...yeah, you'll do."

 

 The mediocre reaction didn't fill her with much optimism but she accepted it nonetheless. Surely he'd warm up to her soon. "Thank you! Can I - Can I come in?"

 

 Lee glanced behind him as if realizing that they were standing on his porch for the first time and gave her a sheepish look, which seemed more genuine than the previous attempt at a smile. "Right! Uh, come in." He opened the door fully for Gia to step inside and shut it with greater force than necessary behind her.

 

 The house didn't seem anything special. Aside from its faded white exterior and the beige walls, there were unopened boxes strewn around the front door and leading into what she guessed was the kitchen. It appeared that he had recently moved and had yet to fix up the house. She wondered if she should offer to help him unpack before they began with this mysterious project. She followed him through the halls idly, half-listening to whatever Lee was mumbling under his breath (she had a feeling he wasn't speaking to her directly) as she eyed the house. A fine layer of dust was caked on the furniture in the living room and no pictures were hung on the walls. Gia ran her index finger across the back of the leather couch and hummed at the dust now resting on her fingertip. Yes, he definitely needed someone to help him get things in order. Or perhaps a maid.

 

 "We're going to be performing the experiment in the basement," Lee addressed her now, causing her to instinctively tuck her hands behind her back as proof that she hadn't been sticking them all over the furniture. He studied her with pursed lips, and seemed to be measuring her worth. Not that Gia knew what for. "What experience do you have with science?"

 

 "Experience?" She thought hard at the odd question. "Well, aside from school projects - you know, the typical baking soda volcano and stuff like that - not much. Is that a bad thing...?"

 

 Lee considered it for a moment before grinning. The sight caught her off-guard, mostly because the grin appeared sinister more than anything. "Not at all. Wanna get right to it?" He opened the door behind him and gestured for her to follow him down the stairs to where she assumed was the basement. Gia shook off any nagging suspicions rising in her mind and obeyed.

 

 After all, how bad could this be?

 

*

 

 To say that this wasn't what she had had in mind would be a vast understatement. Gia's brain was still trying to process the whole situation. It was understandably difficult given that she was eyeing a suspiciously unsafe metal table with straps hanging off the sides.

 

 "So, to clarify," she said slowly, "you want me to get on that thing so you can experiment on me?"

 

 Lee shrugged as if it wasn't a huge deal. "Pretty much, kid. It's not really  _experimenting_ , though. See, my previous assistant kind of bailed on me since he thought it wasn't 'safe' or some crap like that. I managed to finish the serum without him, of course, but I _really_ need to test it out on someone. Oh, I gotta ask: are you, by any chance, allergic to anything?"

 

 Gia shook her head, still staring at the table. "I used to be allergic to mosquito bites but not anymore."

 

 "Oh, good. That would've been awkward later." When he saw Gia not comprehending, Lee stopped fiddling with the knobs on one of the machines lining the walls of the basement lab and sighed. "Sometimes allergies mess with the serum a little, make it more potent to giving you hives and runny noses and whatever the hell allergies give you. You should be good to go then."

 

 That was reassuring. She tilted her head at the ominous table and took a few steps towards it. "What kind of serum would you be putting in me anyways?"

 

 "I'm trying to modify human genetics," Lee explained, going back to his tinkering and turning of buttons. "You know, make them stronger and faster and smarter. Sort of like messing with Darwin's natural selection theory, you get it? But don't worry, princess, it shouldn't hurt too badly."

 

 Gia bit her lip. While now seemed like the best time to get out of the basement and run, a part of her was intrigued by the idea. It almost sounded like she was going to be a sort of superhuman, which would be awesome. Plus, Lee had promised it wouldn't hurt that much so why not? She  _had_ come here to help him with his experiment, after all. Surely he wouldn't ask without knowing the side effects and precautions needed to put into place.

 

 "Why not?" she muttered to herself. "Might be fun."

 

 "Hmm?" Lee asked. "What's that?"

 

 Gia steeled herself and smiled at Lee. "I'll do it."

 

 Something akin to relief washed over his expression as he glanced at her. The gleam in his dark eyes brightened and any butterflies fluttering in her gut ceased as she felt excitement roll over her. "Great. Hop on up and let's get this show on the road, princess."

 

*

 

 Colors swam before her eyes as they pried themselves open. Her brain felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton and her lips were numb. Despite the cold from the basement seeping through the walls, she didn't feel any shivers running down her spine. In fact, she almost felt...warm. She tried to curl in on herself to embrace the heat before feeling the tug of the restraints on her wrists and ankles. Ah, right. She nearly whined at the uncomfortable chafing against her skin.

 

 "How do you feel, princess?" Lee's chestnut-colored face loomed over her, more hopeful than concerned about her state of discomfort. He even appeared to be smiling.

 

 Gia swallowed down a lump forming in her throat, realizing suddenly how dry it was. Her tongue felt fat and useless in her mouth. "Was that supposed to happen?" she tried to ask, though it came out more like a series of moans.

 

 Her lack of coherency didn't bother the scientist (if you could even call him that). Actually, it only caused his expression to brighten from what she could tell due to her shaky vision. "It'll take a few minutes for it to wear off, don't worry. You did better than I expected, to be honest! The last guy passed out for three hours and woke up screaming! Ha! Ah, memories."

 

 Gia chose to ignore that unsettling information and tugged again at the straps. The palms of her hands felt as if they were on fire, burning comfortably against her skin. She wondered if she should have thought this through before agreeing to become a human guinea pig.

 

 "Though, I haven't seen  _that_ happen before," Lee murmured, a gloved hand grasping her right wrist. She moved her head sluggishly to see what the possible issue was and her eyes widened.

 

 Oh.

 

 So she actually  _was_ on fire.

 

 "Just like a superhuman," she tried to say, and Lee laughed. He seemed ecstatic about the new find, not that she could blame him. After all, it wasn't everyday  you accidentally made a superhero.

 


	2. Catch Me if You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt:
> 
> During a high-spirited game of Manhunt in a large building, Characters A, B, C, D, E, & F all separate in an attempt to find the best hiding spot and become the victor. While the others scatter, Characters B & D sneak off to a closet for some alone time together, but just before they kiss…Character A screams bloody murder.

 "Remind me again why we're playing this?" Nora grumbled, eyeing Lee out of the corner of her eye as he repeatedly flicked the flashlight she held's button on and off. Despite being a poltergeist, Gia had allowed him to tag along for the night and he was doing his best to mess with Nora ten times more than usual with his telekinetic abilities. Already she had been forced to bite her tongue when a suspiciously glowing bookshelf had almost toppled onto her. "Not to mention that the school is closed right now, and if we get caught - "

 

 "Relax, Grumps," Lee said pointedly ignoring the glower she sent his way. "No one's going to find us in here. Besides, that principal likes your gal, doesn't he? I'm sure he'd come through for her."

 

 "Just because Mr. Wu is a vampire doesn't mean he wants to bail me out of jail," Gia told him matter-of-factly. She was busy handing out the other flashlights to Ramon, Claire, and Ezra (why the three had agreed to come was beyond her; if it wasn't for the simple fact that Nora was more than a little scared to leave Gia and Lee alone in charge of a game in the dark, she would be wisely sitting in her bedroom at the house where it was safe). "But don't worry, Nora. It's just a night of fun! I figured what with everything going on, we needed a night to lighten the mood!"

 

 Nora blinked at her. "So you decided a game of Manhunt at midnight in the high school you work in was a good plan."

 

 Gia thought over her words for a pause. She sucked in her lower lip and frowned before shrugging. "Well, when you put it like that... Yeah!"

 

 Lee snorted at the expression Nora was sporting. "Lighten up, Grumps. It's going to be fine."

 

 "Everything about this screams  _horror movie_ to me," she muttered, glaring at the ghost hovering beside her. She wished not for the first time - and certainly not for the last - that Gia had listened to her when she'd asked her girlfriend not to use that temporary Settlement charm to bring Lee along for the game. Not only was he a mischievous dead guy who had a frightening lack of self-control and morality, but he also had pissed off half of Albany's monstrous and magical residents. Knowing their luck, they'd end up finding some undead zombie army he had run into when he was still alive and end up running for home.

 

 "A horror film? _That's_ what you're thinking about right now?"

 

 Nora huffed in exasperation. "We're hanging out in an abandoned building in the dark and splitting up to search for one another. That's _usually_ how horror movies start! Next thing you know, one of us is going to wind up dead!"

 

 "Way to lighten the mood, Grumps."

 

 The photographer ground her teeth together. "I _told_ you to stop calling me that."

 

 "And I could care less."

 

 "No arguing," Gia intervened before Nora could contemplate the merits of attempting to throttle a ghost. "We're going to have a fun night and not try to kill each other, okay?"

 

 Nora and Lee glanced at one another before muttering reluctantly, "Okay."

 

 Ramon's eyes darted between the two uneasily as he gripped the flashlight tighter. The late hour of the game wasn't going to be doing the dark bags under his eyes any favors. It was hard to fathom why he had agreed to come despite being friends with most of the group. "So what exactly are the rules to this? I've never played Manhunt before."

 

 "Basically," Ezra said, "there's one person searching for everyone else in the dark. It's like hide-and-seek, but creepier. I've usually played where the last person found gets to be the new searcher."

 

 "Sounds like a great idea to me!" Gia chirped and clicked the button on her flashlight a couple of times to ensure the battery was working. "The only other notes I have is that a) the principal's office is off-limits and b) you can't hide outside. Also don't mess with any of the classrooms because no one else knows we're here. Any other questions?"

 

 "Are we allowed to hide in the same spot as another person?" Ramon asked.

 

 Gia shrugged. "If you want to, go ahead. You'll both be out if you get caught, though."

 

 "Enough chattering, let's get to it!" Lee clapped his hands together, leaning forward so he was hovering over Gia's shoulder. He seemed far too enthusiastic for a ghost about to play a cheesy game. "Who's the first unlucky bastard?"

 

 "Language," Gia scolded though he was hardly paying her any mind.

 

 "Wait a minute," Nora held up her hands to get the others' attention. "Is no one else going to point out the obvious rule that needs to be put in place?"

 

 Claire frowned. "What do you mean?"

 

 Nora gestured toward the gleeful poltergeist. " _A certain someone_ can phase through walls and scare the shit out of you if he happens to be 'it'. Oh, and he can turn invisible if he wants to be."

 

 Lee's expression dropped, as did the temperature in the hallway, causing them to shiver a little. Judging by his reaction, Nora guessed that she had been correct in assuming he was planning on cheating. "Well. Someone's a buzzkill."

 

 "Oh, right." Gia winced. "I forgot about that." She glanced at Lee, who was clearly not happy with being outed, and gave him a winning smile. "Lee...? Could you not scare any of us - or cheat - by doing all those things Nora mentioned tonight? Please?"

 

 The poltergeist stared at her with the same unhappy ( _and that's definitely a pout_ , Nora couldn't help but note with amusement) expression. "Where's the fun in that?" Gia's smile dimmed, a surefire sign that it was snowballing into a frown, and he sighed heavily as if the task were burdensome. " _Fine._ I suppose I won't have any _fun_ tonight."

 

 "You'll have fun," the smaller woman assured him. Her demeanor was already brightening once more and a collective sigh of relief was quietly released amongst the group. "Do you still want to be 'it'?"

 

 Nora's relief disappeared in a flash. "Uh, why is _he_ \- ?"

 

 "I suppose if you're _offering_ , princess," Lee replied, his grin returning with definite sinister gleams around the edges of his dark eyes. "Why not?"

 

 " _Oh, god,_ " Ramon groaned softly, burying his face in his palms.

 

 "Awesome!" Gia turned to the others with hardly containable enthusiasm. Somehow she didn't appear to detect the utter horror wafting in the air within her friends or the ominous look on Lee's face as something to be concerned over. "I guess we're ready to start! Lee, you're going to count to sixty - and close your eyes! Then you'll come looking for us, okay?"

 

 Ramon had successfully turned a luminous shade of white and Claire's knuckles on her red flashlight had become the same color. Ezra exchanged a wordless glance with the latter and the blonde nodded. It was clear that everyone had no intention of letting the maniac ghost discover them, if it was the last thing they did. Nora's stomach churned just thinking about the idea.

 

 Even with Gia's new rules in place, there was no way Lee wouldn't pop up out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of the group. It wasn't in his nature.

 

 "Fine by me." Lee leaned back in mid-air, eyes studying the group with a noticeably predatory glint. "Just tell me when to start counting."

 

 Nora swallowed down a rising lump in her throat, whispers starting to grow in the back of her mind in dissent. Every part of her screamed to run, to grab Gia and get the hell out of the creepy building. A cold knot worked its way into her stomach, twisting forebodingly.

 

 "Everyone ready?" Gia surveyed the group and mistook the tense postures for game-ready fight-or-flight instincts (when in actuality they had nothing to do with the game). She beamed as she turned back to the ghost, switching her flashlight on. "Great! Count to sixty!"

 

 "Gia - "

 

 Lee shut his eyes and casually called out, "One... Two..."

 

 The result was immediate; the group members shot out of the school hallway like bullets from a shotgun, racing in various directions to get away from the smug poltergeist. There was no time to think about escaping his grasp, only delaying the inevitable. Nora sprinted down the hall and turned a corner, barely paying attention to anyone who might be following her. The whispering in her head screamed violently at the realization that the end of the hallway was pitch black even as she kept running.

 

  _There's no time to worry about that!_ She snapped back at the invisible cries of _Fool! Danger! Too dark! Too dark! Run!_

 

 Lee's voice drifted to her ears faintly from the main entrance to the building. "Eight... Nine... Ten..."

 

 Where was she supposed to hide? Nora hadn't played hide-and-seek in years. How was she supposed to know what a good hiding spot looked like?

 

 Lee would find them all. It was unavoidable. He could phase through walls and "sense their auras" (whatever the hell that meant). It wasn't like hiding in a supply closet would do much good against those abilities.

 

 Nora screwed up her courage and threw open the door nearest to her, hardly looking where she was entering as she shut off her flashlight. She shut the door as quietly as she dared, wading to the back of the enclosed space. Just her luck: apparently she truly had trapped herself in a janitor's closet. She resisted the urge to groan and sat against a pole near the back (it might have been a mop; the bottom was of a strange material connected to the pole).

 

 "Fifteen... Sixteen... Seventeen... Eighteen..."

 

 At least she didn't have to search for another spot to hide. Nora leaned her head back, rubbing her temples as she dropped her flashlight beside her. She could already feel the headache coming on.

 

  _I hope the others find a good spot_ , she thought idly. At least if Gia was found she wouldn't have to worry about being scared to death. Her girlfriend was likely the only one of the group the ghost cared about enough to obey and be (somewhat) kind to.

 

 As if on cue, the door swung open and Nora nearly shot to her feet in surprise. It shut just as swiftly as it had been opened and she paused, hand lingering over the flashlight next to her. Obviously it wasn't Lee and whoever this was had turned off their flashlight before entering so it was difficult to see them.

 

 "Uh, hi?"

 

 A soft sound came from above and with a  _click_ the flashlight illuminated the small space. Nora shielded her eyes with a hand so the light wasn't searing her eyes but even then it took a couple of moments before she could see who was there.

 

 "I didn't know you were in here," Gia admitted sheepishly, lowering the flashlight so the other could see. "Sorry."

 

 "It's alright."

 

 The silence permeated for a minute, the only voice breaking the air being the gleeful poltergeist's not far off.

 

 "Twenty-five... Twenty-six... Twenty-seven..."

 

 "Do you...?" Gia hesitated. The woman revised her statement mentally before retrying her question. "Do you want me to go?"

 

 Nora was grateful for the dark closet suddenly. She wasn't sure she wanted Gia to see the burning in her cheeks. "I... Um, I'm okay if you stay. I don't mind."

 

 Chewing on her lip, Gia thought this over with a nod. The decision appeared to have been made when she plopped down beside her, switching off the light.

 

 Right.

 

 "Thirty-one..."

 

 "I'm surprised he hasn't just gone already," Nora muttered, realizing only a second after the words left her lips that she had spoken aloud.

 

 Gia snorted. "You think he would do that?"

 

 "Gia, I  _know_ he would do that. The only reason why he hasn't is because you set the rules in place."

 

 She guessed that the other would be rolling her eyes, if she could see her. "You don't give him enough credit. Lee's not that bad."

 

 "Sorry, I guess being tormented on a daily basis by the an undead whiny child takes away any sympathy I have for the asshole," Nora snapped with more sarcasm lacing her tone than she had anticipated.

 

 "Language."

 

 Nora sighed. "Sorry."

 

 There was another pause, though the tension began to ebb from the air. "It's okay."

 

 Why Gia would continuously forgive her for being rude was beyond her. If she were in the other's position, she would have left herself long ago. Whatever Gia saw in her - had seen in her since freshman year in high school - seemed to win out every time they argued. She would never understand it, hard as she tried.

 

 Which, admittedly, wasn't very hard.

 

 "Hey." A nudge in her side, lighter than she had expected, drew her back to the situation at hand. Gia must have been facing her because she could feel the warm breath against her cheek. She could see a vague outline of the other occupant in the janitor's closet now as her vision adjusted. Judging by the soft tone, Gia was likely smiling at her. "It's been forever since we've been able to do this."

 

 "Hide in a closet from a poltergeist?" Nora raised her eyebrows, befuddled by the statement.

 

 Gia giggled, dropping her head onto the broader woman's shoulder. " _No_ , silly. I meant  _talk_.  _Alone._ We've been so busy with work or having Lee around that we haven't talked since...you know..."

 

 "Oh."

 

  _Oh._ She meant...

 

 Nora could _definitely_ feel her face flushing.

 

 "Do you...?" Her throat felt drier than the Sahara desert. "Um... I mean..."

 

 Another giggle pierced the air. It was quieter this time, fondness seeping into the noise.

 

 "Forty-six... Forty-seven..."

 

 "If you want to. We've still got time."

 

 Nora swallowed hard. She blinked once, twice at the faint figure sharing the darkness with her.

 

 "I... Yeah."

 

 Why was it that this woman always knew how to make her lose coherency?

 

 Gia shifted, appearing to be moving onto her knees instead of her bottom, and the flashlight turned on. It was abruptly easier to see her girlfriend, smiling warmly at her as she intertwined their fingers. Nora's larger hand gave hers a tentative squeeze and Gia bumped her forehead against Nora's with a bigger smile.

 

 God, she hoped the poltergeist didn't find them before this ended.

 

 Of course Nora had the worst luck in existence because the moment she thought this a bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the high school, eerily familiar, and the whispers in her brain kicked into overdrive as Lee's voice paused in counting.

 

  _Danger! Death! Get out! Run! Danger! Leave!_

 

 Nora hissed, pulling away sharply from Gia, bumping the top of her head against something in the closet. She barely heard Gia questioning what was going on as her head throbbed. Of all the times for things to go wrong.

 

 "What was that? Are you okay? Wait...that was Claire screaming." A harsh inhale of breath was the only cue before Gia scrambled to her feet, throwing open the door with her flashlight beam ready.

 

 "We're not alone!" Lee's voice snapped, growing closer. The game seemed to be abandoned, the seriousness of the matter blatant. "Where are all of you?"

 

 "Here!" Gia called to him, eyes wide as she continued to look about. Nora rubbed her eyes, still on the floor of the closet. She could faintly hear Ezra and Ramon shouting for Claire, the latter boy sounding not too far from their position. The world felt sluggish around her as her heart raced.

 

  _Danger... Run... Remember..._

 

 Lee's face appeared near Gia, visible relief flickering over his transparent face before he frowned once more. "You and Grumps stay with me, got it, princess? We need to find the others."

 

 "Can you sense what's with us?" Gia asked anxiously, moving to help Nora to her feet. Nora stumbled, gripping the woman's shoulders tightly as her legs threatened to give out.

 

 Judging by the grave expression he wore, she didn't need to ask. "Unfortunately, yes."

 

 Another scream of terror rang out and Ezra's voice joined in, not nearly as loud.

 

 "Claire! _Where are you?!_ Hang on!"

 

 Lee swore. "He's going after her."

 

 "Guys?" Ramon's voice, closer now, came from the end of the hall. "Where are you? What's happening?"

 

 "I hate to say it," Lee grumbled, his voice nearly inaudible as the temperature dropped several degrees, "but I guess you were right, Grumps. This is beginning to remind me of a horror movie. Though, to be honest, I figured the dead person wouldn't be anywhere in it if they were on the good guys' side."

 

 Nora didn't respond. The whispers were overwhelming her, and it was difficult to think straight.

 

  _Death... Run... Remember the last... REMEMBER..._


	3. Wide Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt:
> 
> Character A and Character B are at a sleepover, and Character A is feeling incredibly sleepy and sentimental – a mix of being up super late and coming down from a sugar high – and they can’t stop running their fingers through Character B’s hair and whispering sweet niceties to them. Character B is too enraptured by this soft side of Character A to pull away…but also because their legs are totally tangled together.

 Gia supposed that the first point where she  _really_ should have noticed Nora's crush on her - she really hadn't meant to be so oblivious, despite what Lee would say under his breath when he thought she couldn't hear him - was junior year a week before Christmas. Since most of her family was Jewish, Hanukkah had already come and gone and most of the festivities were over for the Medinas. Gia and her youngest brother Marco adored Christmas time anyways, and had convinced their parents to keep the decorations up throughout the rest of December. She had invited Nora to sleep over since they had arrived at winter break and she knew the other would never let her sleep over while her uncle was there. Nora's uncle Ken was... Well, he was _interesting_. A bit rude sometimes, sure, but he seemed nice. Nevertheless, she was ecstatic when Nora had reluctantly agreed to spend the night.

 

 Despite being friends for nearly three years now, Nora had never slept over. Not simply with Gia, but with anyone. She was clearly uneasy upon entering the Medina household, though she had visited and come over to study many a time, so Gia decided that after dinner maybe it was best if they stayed in her room? Her friend grew nervous around others in sociable situations, and unfortunately her family was very boisterous and tended to avoid personal space if they forgot themselves. Not that Gia herself minded - but she had recognized the look in Nora's eye the first day they met, the uncomfortable nature of chatting with someone much more open and cheerful than yourself. While Nora had grown used to Gia's level of sociability, her family didn't always know when to tone it down for others.

 

 So when the two high-schoolers confined themselves to Gia's bedroom - which Nora remarked was "definitely what she expected", not that she was sure what that meant (but she took it as a compliment) - it was only natural that they switched on the TV and gorged themselves on the leftover candy from Halloween two months prior.

 

 It occurred to her later on that _perhaps_ downing an entire bag of Hershey kisses and sweets wasn't the best plan at one o'clock in the morning.

 

 Nora, whom was shockingly vibrant on a sugar high and laughing shamelessly loud despite Gia's half-hearted attempts to shush her, had somehow fallen from her position up against the bed. She currently lay sprawled on the carpeted floor, nearly hiccuping because of some long-forgotten joke Gia had made (something about sick reindeer... she honestly couldn't recall the rest). Gia had ended up beside her, her much smaller form jerking every time she stifled a giggle at Nora's odd state. They should have been watching some old TV rerun but instead the two could hardly will their bodies to sit up.

 

 "That's so weird," Nora said, her laughter dying out finally. "God, that's so weird."

 

 Gia shifted on the carpet, her hand pressed against her mouth still. "What is?"

 

 The taller woman frowned. She thought for a moment, appearing strangely sober before she snorted and shook with unrestrained laughter once more. "I don't even remember. I'm so damn tired."

 

 "Language," Gia murmured. Her mouth stretched into a yawn and she removed her hand from her face as she shut her eyes. "It's so late. I never stay up this late."

 

 "Never?"

 

 Gia shook her head and Nora snorted a second time. "You're such a good person, Gia. Probably go to bed at nine when everyone else is cramming for tests at two a.m."

 

 "Hey," Gia said, half-teasing, "there's nothing wrong with going to bed early."

 

 Nora didn't seem to be listening. When her companion glanced over to see whether she had conked out, she was a little startled to see an unreadable expression blatantly displayed on Nora's face. It was so unlike the usually stoic and antisocial high-schooler that she paused and stared for a few moments. She could swear that her friend almost appeared to be looking at her with...fondness.

 

 But that was ridiculous. Nora never looked at others in that way. She had certainly never looked at her uncle that way.

 

 Her stomach fluttered at the thought, but at the time she wasn't sure why.

 

 "Nora?"

 

 Her voice didn't seem to draw the other out of whatever trance she had entered. Nora moved a hand towards Gia who remained where she was, uncertain what was unfolding before her eyes. She lightly curled a finger around one of her wild dark curls and her gaze shifted to the mess of tangled hair instead of Gia's face. Secretly, she missed the unusual warmth of that unfamiliar gaze.

 

 "There's so much of it," Nora mumbled.

 

 "I have a lot of hair," Gia lamely responded. It was strange to explain such a thing to her friend. She wondered if this was how others acted when they were drunk. The idea of Nora getting drunk caused her fluttering stomach to clench tightly and she quickly retracted that thought.

 

 Her friend nodded in acknowledgement of her response, but did not remove her hand from the mess of hair. Truthfully, Gia wasn't certain whether she wanted Nora to.

 

 "But it's...nice."

 

 Gia cocked her head curiously at Nora. "Nice?"

 

 "Nice. Soft." Her voice was quiet, her words slightly slurred in her sleepy state. "Softer than mine."

 

 At this she couldn't resist giggling. "Yours is much shorter than mine. I think it's soft as it as, though." Not that she personally had run her hands through her best friend's brown pixie cut - if you could call the unkempt mayhem atop her head a "pixie cut".

 

 Nora didn't appear to hear or comprehend her words. She leaned over, elbows digging into the carpet as she buried both hands in Gia's hair now. All she wanted to do, so it seemed, was pet and curl the locks around her larger fingers. It was oddly relaxing to watch her do so.

 

 "I like it. I like it... I like it a lot, Gia."

 

 "My hair?" When had her voice drawn to a near-whisper? It was difficult to crane her neck to stare up at Nora, and yet she didn't dare look away.

 

 Nora hesitated, her expression twisting as if she were trying to think of the words she required in the sleep-deprived brain of hers. "I..." Her hands kept playing, running on a mind of their own it seemed.

 

 She didn't understand it then, but perhaps Nora had been trying to tell her what she had truly intended by her previous statement. The simple phrase _I like it... I like it a lot, Gia_ ran through her mind quite often now that she knew what the other had meant. It made her cheeks redden whenever the memory came to light.

 

 Nora _certainly_ hadn't been talking about the hair. 

 

 "Nora?" Gia then had prodded at her friend further, her face screwing up with uncertainty. "Are you okay?"

 

 Said teen pressed her face into the mass of curls, her grip loosening on the strands in her grasp. Gia watched for another moment, struggling to figure out in her own drowsy mind what the other was doing. She shifted slightly and heard a light noise drifting from Nora's lips.

 

 "Nora?"

 

 The noise came again and Gia's eyes widened before her face grew scarlet. Oh. Those were snores.

 

 "Looks like you finally fell asleep," she whispered. A smile played on her lips as she listened to Nora fall further into slumber. While the position was a bit awkward - and how on earth was she going to get up to use the bathroom in the morning? - she found the way that Nora nosed her curls unconsciously as she shifted on the carpet _...sweet._

 

She wasn't sure at that time why the word came to mind, but it fit the situation somehow. Somehow...

 

 And as Gia herself fell into dreams of her own, she couldn't help but think to herself,  _I wonder if she really does like my hair that much._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was all-too-happy to write this, let me tell you. Never give an author the chance to write fluff about their OCs.


	4. Disarray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've skipped a few of these (and probably will for more, sorry if you're actually following this) due to other duties in real life and new interest in other stories. My apologies. (Also this one turned into a venting featuring lots of anxiety and death, courtesy of my own anxiety. You're welcome)
> 
> The prompt:
> 
> Character A is cursed with watching their friend, Character B, die again and again and again. Because of some cosmic law, Character B is not allowed to die, but they keep becoming involved in tragic accidents – Character B is caught in a random drive-by shooting, a car swerves to avoid hitting a child but strikes Character B instead, an earthquake causes a bookshelf to fall on Character B, etc. – which Character A is powerless to prevent. In order to fix this, the universe keeps forcing Character A to re-live each day so that they can try to save Character B’s life once again.

 The first time it happened, Nora wasn't sure whether she was dreaming. It was a valid thought on her behalf considering that most of her dreams weren't the pleasant sort ninety percent of the time, and the fact that her best friend's face had gone paler than the moon beside her in a café was unnerving.

 

 She had been listening to Gia explain why she thought one of her student assistants in the classroom was being rude to a student when she realized that Gia had frozen in place. Nora's nerves were set alight with worry as she realized the woman was having difficulty breathing.  _Anxiety attack_ , Nora's mind whispered. But she had seen the other experience an attack before - which had been terrifying for the both of them, and she hadn't released the other from a tight hug for nearly half an hour until she insisted everything was fine. Gia usually gave some form of warning before she went through an attack.

 

 Maybe she had given one and Nora hadn't been paying attention?

 

 "Gia." Her voice was gentle, though not without nervousness gripping the words. "Are you okay?"

 

 Gia glanced up slowly, far too slow to be normal, and her cheeks were going lighter than Nora's. "Food..." Whatever seating she had in the chair was lost instantaneously as she collapsed to the floor and Nora shot out of her own like a mother deer fleeing to safety. Thankfully she managed to grab the woman before her head slammed into the floor. People's voices rose around them, some asking for help, some asking what was happening. Everything was pulsing around her, shadows stretching out with clawed fingers toward her friend.

 

 "Breathe. It'll - It'll be okay!"

 

 She could hardly hear her own voice over the sound of Gia's faint pulse fading beneath her fingertips. Someone was yelling now, perhaps her, and she wished they would shut up. Everything was throbbing.

 

  _Not Gia. No. Please, not Gia._

 

 It only took a few more moments for the heartbeat to vanish like a stranger in the night. It took six minutes for the ambulance to arrive; luckily there was one a few blocks down when the manager of the café made the call for help.

 

 It took fifteen minutes for Nora to be pulled away from her best friend's body.

 

 It took nearly twenty-four hours before they informed her that Gia had been an unlucky victim of a rare poison meant for an esteemed visitor arriving later at the café. Such a ridiculous answer caused everything to short-circuit in her brain and she only registered later that the police had long since hung up on her enraged screaming.

 

 When she did find sleep, she felt sick because it meant none of this was a dream. Still, she hoped.

 

*

 

 Nora had awoken to find that the date on the calendar hadn't changed and that Gia called her up to ask about eating lunch at the same café where she had fallen, eyes glassy and heartbeat missing. She had whispered a curt goodbye and hung up before the other could hear her struggling to breathe properly. She rode out her own attack for what seemed like hours, trying to fathom what the hell was going on.

 

 After she got herself under control, she called Gia back and apologized, stating that she wanted to eat at home with her friend. Gia didn't appear to be bothered by the change and agreed happily. Nora wished that she could see the other smiling on the other end, just to know for certain that this wasn't a joke.

 

 Nora forced herself to stand and get the mail. She brushed her teeth and ate breakfast. She went online to scroll through lists of gifts her friends had sent her for the holidays, ideas for wishlists and presents.

 

 Lunchtime rolled around faster than she had anticipated, and it left at a crawl. Gia never came.

 

 Her insides began to roll with unease. Surely she was on her way. Gia wasn't one to be late. She would never leave her friends waiting, especially not Nora.

 

 The very thought made her want to vomit even more.

 

 She received the call later that night from Mr. Medina, after sending numerous to her friend's cell phone. Through choked sobs he told her that the school bus driving near Main Street hadn't stopped quickly enough at the red light that afternoon. The car was in worse shape than she had been in, he assured her, as if trying to take his mind off of the obvious fate of his daughter. Still, her lungs had given out after being damaged badly.

 

 Nora had thrown the phone across the room and buried herself in the thick comforter. The screams fought their way out of her hoarse throat with herculean effort and the shaking in her bones didn't cease for the rest of the night.

 

*

 

 The day never ended. Not after those first two times. Not after a week's worth of crying and watching or hearing about her best friend being killed by numerous unlikely offenders.

 

 After the first nine days she decided she couldn't live like this any longer. She couldn't watch this happen. Whatever mysterious force had decided to grant her a "Groundhog Day"-esque hell wasn't going to smash the only spark of light in her life.

 

 That didn't mean she was successful in her attempts, sadly.

 

 When Gia stepped off the sidewalk the first day of trying and a cherry red Prius came hurtling towards her, Nora yanked her by the coat back onto the sidewalk. Moments later, she was shot by a flailing middle-aged man two stores down whom had been aiming to perform a robbery and misfired. Gia lived long enough to croak out, "It's getting really bright... Are you sure it's winter?" Nora laughed hysterically until the ambulance arrived, tears streaming down her face. She wasn't sure why.

 

 The next came during the school day when Gia was out of reach. She got a call from her friend that there was a fire in the cafeteria and she was going to be staying to help get the kids out of the building. Nora rushed to the school without thought, but she was only told that  _she was brave, rescuing those kids when the ceiling came down, you should be proud._

 

 One of the worst incidents involved a motorcycle that nearly killed Nora instead. The shorter woman had tried to push her out of the way, but Nora allowed the front wheel to graze her side even if it burned like hell. She wasn't able to shield the other from the accident on the way to the hospital that Gia had insisted on taking. How Nora herself survived was uncertain but with her newly broken arm and searing skin she tried not to vomit in the hair splayed across her lap. The gruesome sight of her once rounded cheeks being flattened was enough to bring on another anxiety attack. It was the longest half hour of her life waiting to be freed from the crushed confines of the car.

 

 This day's attempt had been less gorey. Gia had narrowly missed being chopped in half by a knife salesmen on their way down to the farmer's market and had been skillfully tugged away from a less-than-friendly German Shepherd, despite the protests that came forth towards the latter. Nora had maneuvered the two of them to a park bench, sitting calmly away from whatever disasters might unfold. She sat on the edge of the wood, the aged seat creaking under her every twitch of the leg. While the weather was growing warmer than it had been in two weeks and the children on the playground were laughing behind them, it gave her no reason to relax. At any moment the world could be ripped out under her by an earthquake, or a speeding truck, or maybe a crazed old man with a machine gun. She  _couldn't_ sit still.

 

 "The clouds look like giant marshmallows, don't they?" Gia was humming softly next to her, head tilted precariously up towards the sky. If the afternoon were spent under better circumstances, she might have admired the tumble of her dark hair down the back of the bench or the strands that caught in her lips before she plucked them away with a pout.

 

 "Sure."

 

 "I kind of see a face in that one over there."

 

 "Yeah." Nora glanced behind her warily. The kids were growing louder. Perhaps it was a sign of one of them growing too rowdy. Three were playing with a big red ball, so it might be heading their way if they weren't careful.

 

 "And that one looks like my best friend who doesn't seem to be listening."

 

 "Yeah."

 

  _"Nora."_

 

 She met Gia's eyes and was mildly surprised to find an uncharacteristic sternness glinting in their depths. "Um, yeah?"

 

 "What's going on?"

 

 Her heart clenched. "What do you mean? You were talking about clouds - "

 

 "You're distracted and worried," Gia interrupted her. "You look like you're expecting the sky to fall, like Chicken Little."

 

 "The sky can't fall. And I'm not."

 

 Gia huffed and straightened in her spot. She kept her gaze fixed on Nora, and it was making her a bit uncomfortable. Knowing Gia though, that was why she was doing so. Nora wanted to look around more, to make sure that  _nothing_ was going to happen this time, but she didn't want to look away from Gia and confirm the other's suspicions. "Well, you're acting like it."

 

 "Sorry."

 

 "I don't - !" Pausing, Gia breathed in deeply. The burst of volume that had erupted from her wasn't a good sign. "Nora. I know something's wrong."

 

 How were you supposed to tell your best friend that she was going to die today repeatedly, in horrific ways? There wasn't a happy ending to this, was there? She was going to keep failing and keep watching Gia's life slip between her fingers. There wasn't an end in sight. She was going to fail. What was she supposed to do? What could she say?

 

 It was difficult to breathe. Nora's hands shook violently the longer they stared at one another.

 

 Gia's expression was softening, as if she sensed the panic rising from the other end of the bench. "You can tell me, Nora. It's okay."

 

 "You don't... I..." Nora ran a palm over her eyes and was alarmed to find how clammy it felt. She jerked it back and balled the hand into a fist. "G - Gia..."

 

 "Breathe." Gia laid a hand on her arm. The soothing tone was helping to stimulate a calming environment but Nora couldn't relax. She  _couldn't._ Not unless she wanted to watch Gia die, and she couldn't do that again, she couldn't watch everything go to shit  _again_. "Breathe slowly, okay? I'll do it with you. Follow my lead."

 

  _She couldn't._

 

 "Nora, you have to breathe. Like this. One... Count with me."

 

  _Why is she so patient? Why am I so stupid? Why can't I fix this? Why is this happening? Why it going to happen here? Why is she helping me?_ _Why can't I do anything right? Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?_

 

The thoughts were revolving faster and faster in her brain and Nora couldn't concentrate on her surroundings. She needed to, she wanted to. She had to listen to Gia. Where was Gia? Was she safe? Had it happened? Was her blood everywhere? Was she still holding onto Nora? Was it coming soon?

 

 "One breath. One breath is all you need to do, Nora."

 

 Nora sucked in sharply and fought not to panic. She wanted to listen to Gia, she wanted Gia to be okay, she wanted to stop this nightmare from continuing.

 

 "Good! Let it out now. I'll let it out with you. Nice and slow, that's it."

 

 This went on for what felt like years before Nora realized it wasn't a struggle to breathe and that her best friend was still sitting there with a sad smile caking her lips. The park seemed less rowdy now, and the sun was beginning to fall from the edge of the sky, sending waves of warm colors spreading towards the corners of the world.

 

 "Keep breathing slowly," Gia murmured. Another few minutes allowed Nora to register that Gia had begun rubbing her back at some point, and a head full of thick hair rested against her own. Strands tickled her ears as she followed her companion's instructions, staring at the grass under her boots.

 

 Her stomach was still twisting. She wanted to raise her head and watch for anything suspicious but god, everything ached and she felt as if she had been thrown into a blender. The insides of her body wriggled with discomfort, making their plight known, and that nagging voice hissed  _she's going to leave you, she's not going to stay much longer, she's going to die._

 

 "You don't have to tell me what happened." The words were barely audible. Nora wondered if Gia meant it. "I know this sucks. But I'm not going anywhere."

 

  _Yes, you are._

 

 She longed to shield the woman with her body. If death was approaching once more she couldn't sit here and panic.

 

  _Don't leave me._

 

 Instead she breathed out a shaky puff of air and Gia wound an arm around Nora's shoulders, pressing her nose into the crook of her neck. They held on for as long as they could, though one would likely not make it through the night and the other would mourn for weeks. As Nora released another breath, she watched the chill in the air solidify the action like a melancholy apparition - before it faded from sight once more.


	5. Start of Something Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt:
> 
> Characters A and B have always been toeing the line of being a couple – too intimate to be ‘just friends’, but never officially together – and it drives their friend group up the wall. Until one day when Character B casually calls Character A their ‘significant other’ in conversation. Characters C and D proceed to freak out and bets are definitely exchanged between the two.

 "This is getting ridiculous," Lee muttered under his breath, glowering at the two across the living room. From where he was hovering in the doorway of the kitchen, the frustration flickering across his face was evident.

 

 Claire looked up from the laptop, pausing with her fingertips over the next letters on the keyboard. She fought not to sigh too heavily as she realized the ghost was anticipating a response from her. Sometimes he really did act like a five-year-old. She knew if she ignored him then the complaining would only increase in volume. "What? What is?"

 

 "Them!" He gesticulated towards the living room. The temperature in the room dropped a couple degrees in reaction to his mood. "Come on, tell me you aren't annoyed by it too."

 

 The blonde was too tired for this shit. She had a resume to finish for her job interview tomorrow. Ramon had been kind enough to recommend her to a friend of his working at the diner and she didn't want to disappoint him. It hadn't helped that the WiFi in Claire and Ezra's house had stopped working altogether so Gia, luckily, had offered her use of her own laptop for the day. She hadn't expected to be pestered by the resident ghost of the house the whole time.

 

 "What are you talking about?"

 

 Lee shot her an incredulous look before pointing in an almost manic manner to Nora and Gia in the living room again. " _Those two!_ You seriously haven't noticed the puppy dog eyes and the blushing and their 'totally platonic' hand-holding? Really?"

 

 Oh. That.

 

 Claire inhaled deeply, knowing that keeping her patience with Lee was the best method. Despite how much she wanted to scream at him to leave her be, she had a feeling that he would take the initiative to bother her ten times more than he already was.

 

 He wasn't wrong, now that she thought about it. It was a little ridiculous to watch Nora and Gia dance around each other. When she had first met the two, she had assumed they were dating until Gia had mentioned Nora as just her best friend. It was hard to miss the way Nora's cheeks darkened around the shorter woman though, or the soft smiles that appeared when they both thought no one was looking. She hadn't thought Lee would care much about their love lives, especially not Nora's, so his obvious frustration was...new.

 

 "Yeah, that. They'd be cute together, I think."

 

 Lee rolled his eyes as if she had missed the point entirely. "Yeah, yeah. You'd think they would take a hint, but  _no._ I've literally told them both to just  _go for it_ but do they listen?"

 

 "You tried to give them love advice?" Something about the idea of Lee trying to convince Nora to buy Gia chocolates or flowers brought a smile to her lips. The glare he sent her way only furthered her amusement.

 

 "Emphasis on  _tried._ "

 

 "I know it seems annoying but they need to figure this out for themselves, Lee," Claire told him gently. "They've been friends for a while and who knows? Maybe they're just scared of a change in relationship. The transition might be difficult for them."

 

 "I doubt much would change, given how much they stare at each other."

 

 Claire pushed her chair back from the kitchen table, which seemed to catch Lee's attention fully. Ah, well. She had a feeling she wouldn't be finishing up her resume for a while.

 

 "Have you ever been in a relationship, Lee?" Judging by the blank look he sent her, she took that as a big fat "no". Somehow she wasn't surprised. "Well, it takes time. You don't just kiss the person you like and get together immediately."

 

 "Or get their number and start going on dates right away?" The ghost raised a brow smugly at her and she fought the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. Of course he'd bring up Ramon. Asshole.

 

 "The  _point_ that I am _trying_ to make is you have to be patient. Nora and Gia are two different people and matchmaking doesn't work on everybody. No offense to them, but I doubt Nora has the courage to ask her best friend out and I think Gia's still oblivious to the fact that Nora likes her in the first place. Besides, maybe a relationship isn't something they want to deal with right now. Dealing with ghosts and vampires and magic doesn't leave much room for figuring out your feelings."

 

 Lee hovered by the doorway for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Sometimes it was difficult to tell what the poltergeist was thinking, even with the drops in temperature and his lack of a filter at inopportune instances. Claire wondered if he actually cared about getting Nora and Gia together or if the sexual tension was just too much for him. After all, he was unable to leave the house so he tended to be stuck with the two most.

 

 "That why you haven't tried to hint at anything to them?"

 

 His response made her frown, bewildered. "Hmm?"

 

 "I figured you of all people would be ecstatic about getting two people together," Lee explained with an unusually calm tone. He jerked a thumb in the direction of the living room. "But you want them to work everything about for themselves... So that's why you haven't done anything about it?"

 

 "I... Yes."

 

 "Huh." For some reason this appeared to be baffling Lee.

 

 "Claire!" A sunny voice rang out, nearly startling her as Gia popped her head into the kitchen. Unfortunately, she realized she had thrust her face through the poltergeist too late and cried out as the two separated, both shuddering. "Sorry! I didn't see you there!"

 

 Lee snorted, wrapping his arms around his middle in an almost self-conscious manner. "Neither can most of New York, princess."

 

 "What do you need, Gia?" Claire asked, hoping to draw Gia's attention back to the question. Knowing the other, she would likely continue apologizing to Lee for a good ten minutes if no one intervened. The distraction seemed to do the trick; Gia whipped her head back to Claire and gave her a sheepish smile.

 

 "Oh! Right. I was wondering how your resume was going. You said you were thinking of applying to the diner? The  _1776_ one?"

 

 "Yeah, that's the one." She glanced at the laptop screen, grimacing at how little she had typed. "It's...um, it's coming."

 

 Gia giggled and crossed the room to lean her elbows against the back of Claire's chair. "It looks good so far!"

 

 "Thank you."

 

 "You haven't done much," Lee pointed out helpfully. Gia shot him a look and the blonde had a feeling her friend was trying to be optimistic about the work left to be done, for her sake. The thought warmed her heart.

 

 "Don't be rude."

 

 Lee held up his hands in surrender. "I'm being honest!"

 

 "You're always 'honest'," Nora declared, entering the kitchen with her usual stoic expression. Her lips twitched upwards at the corners when she caught sight of Gia, however. "That show you wanted to watch is going to start soon, by the way. Do you want me to pause it or - ?"

 

 Gia's eyes lit up like the star at the top of a well-decorated tree. "Yes, please!"

 

 Nora shook her head at the other's enthusiasm but it was clear that she didn't mind.  _They would be so cute together_ , Claire affirmed mentally. It was a little irritating that they hadn't made it official yet. "I'll be doing that, then."

 

 "Thank you!" Gia called after her as the brunette left the kitchen. "You're the best!" Lee coughed in his fist to hide the loud snort he made. Claire didn't bother to hide her growing smile.

 

 The Latina sighed happily, turning back to the laptop. "Nora gets me."

 

 "Uh huh." Lee was glaring daggers at the back of Gia's head, as if he could drill the message  _DATE NORA_ into her skull. "Totally."

 

 "She's the best girlfriend," Gia murmured to herself, so softly that the other occupants in the kitchen weren't quite sure they heard her right at first.

 

 "Um..." Claire opened her mouth and shut it. "What did you say?"

 

 Gia paused. The way her mouth formed an  _Oh_ made it blatant that perhaps she hadn't meant to say that aloud. "I... I was talking to myself."

 

 " _FUCKING FINALLY!_ " Lee shouted, the cabinet doors near his head slamming open and closed rapidly and causing the two women to yelp in shock. " _God_ , Ezra owes me ten bucks, ha!"

 

 " _Seriously_ _?_ " Claire stared at him. "You do realize you can't do anything with a ten dollar bill, right? You're dead."

 

 "Of cour - " The poltergeist froze, his good mood vanishing with gusto. "Ah,  _fuck_. That little - !"

 

 "Language!" Gia squeaked out, cutting off Lee. Her face was flushed a steady pink and Claire couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed for her. She likely hadn't expected such a boisterous reaction. "Lee, really - "

 

 "Is everything okay?" Nora's voice drifted to them from the living room. They could hear her standing up hurriedly from the couch.

 

 Gia buried her face in her hands. Claire patted her back sympathetically, glaring at the still-swearing ghost in the room. "Everything's fine, Nora. Lee got a little excited, that's all."

 

 There was a confused pause from the other room. "Oh. Uh, okay. Cool."

 

 Claire smiled wider. "Congratulations on your relationship, by the way."

 

 It was worth it to hear Nora's squawk of embarrassment and to watch Gia turn a dark shade of ruby red.


	6. Baby, It's Cold Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt:
> 
> Character A is petsitting their roommate’s indoor cat, but when Character A opens the front door, the cat runs out into the night. Character B is walking home from work when they find Character A searching around in the snow covered bushes saying: “here kitty kitty”.

"Are you sure you'll be okay watching Jules for a few hours?" Claire asked, halting her progress in buttoning up her winter coat. The uncertainty was plain to see in the tension of her shoulders. Though she had been living with Ezra for nearly a year now - and had been best friends with him for longer - she knew the new addition to the house wasn't the friendliest to him. Jules wouldn't let him pet her without hissing and spitting up a storm. The idea of Ezra being able to feed her at all was worrying.

 

 The friend in question just laughed. "Claire, really. I'll be _fine._ What's the worst that could happen?"

 

  _A lot of things_ , she thought to herself.  _Jules could bite you or run out the door and get hit by a car or -_

 

 "Claire." She snapped out of the nervous train of thought she'd been heading down to see Ezra sending her a knowing look. He shook his head, slinging an arm around her shoulders in comfort. "It'll be okay. Stop worrying."

 

 "I _know._ " Claire sighed and finished fiddling with the final button to her coat. "Just promise you'll be careful. Jules is only six months old and she can't go outside. Especially not in snowy weather like this."

 

 Ezra glanced at the small black shape eyeing them from the stairs, a pair of yellow eyes boring into him. "Somehow I think I won't have a hard time finding a  _black cat_ out in the snow."

 

 Claire swatted his arm, glaring. "Ezra. I'm being serious!"

 

 "So am I! Unless the snow turned black too, I think I'd be able to find her easily. Don't you think?"

 

 They stared at each other for another moment, and it became obvious that Ezra was fighting back a laugh. Claire rolled her eyes but the tension in her figure dissipated at the sight of his amusement. She knew that despite his jokes and teasing he meant well, and he would likely guard that cat with his life for her sake. There was no one she trusted more with Jules but she couldn't help but worry nonetheless.

 

 "Okay. I'm going to be late to the show if I don't go now." She poked a finger at his chest with half-hearted sternness. "Don't let her go outside or poop on the floor."

 

 "I won't," Ezra promised. He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze and she blew a raspberry at him. "Have fun. Tell me all about it when you get back."

 

 Claire slipped out of his grasp, opening the front door with a smile. "You know me too well."

 

 As the door shut, Ezra released a deep breath and turned back to the stairwell. The glaring kitten was still there. Somehow Jules had puffed up more than she had been a few minutes ago.

 

  _Already off to an excellent start._

 

 "Ready to have some fun, huh?" Ezra raised a brow and Jules hissed quietly. He sighed and moved to make himself a snack. He had the feeling that it was going to be a long night - probably filled with more scratches along his legs and hands than usual.

 

*

 

 Ramon was ready to go to sleep. After working two shifts at work, thanks to Staci begging him to cover for him, he was exhausted. He was pretty sure the bags under his eyes had tripled due to the sleepless night he had already had the night before. It didn't help that he had forgotten his gloves at home so his fingers were going numb slowly but surely in his coat pockets. Today really wasn't his day.

 

 He shivered as the wind picked up, rustling the stray curls that escaped from under his wool hat. It wasn't too far to walk to his house so he normally didn't mind the stroll, but the weather wasn't making the trip very enjoyable. Things had been getting colder the closer Christmas drew and despite having lived in New York his whole life, he was finding that the cold wasn't as tolerable as it should have been. His winter boots were beginning to fall apart already, meaning another trip to the store was in the near future. He could feel some snow seeping through the tearing soles the longer he walked.

 

  _Make some hot chocolate when you get home_ , Ramon told himself.  _Extra marshmallows. Then right to bed._

 

 His stomach grumbled just thinking about the hot beverage. He hadn't eaten too much for lunch hours before and it was a little past dinnertime now. Given that he was too tired to make a whole meal, maybe he would grab some microwaveable mac and cheese from the fridge and heat that up.

 

 Ramon turned the corner on the road, watching a man on a motorbike fly past with a shake of his head. How people could ride those things in this weather was beyond him. It was a shock that he hadn't gotten in an accident given the icy roads yet. As if listening to his thoughts, the snowflakes lingering on his eyelashes multiplied and he hurriedly wiped them with one freezing hand before shoving it back into his pocket. He looked up at the evening sky with a grimace. The snow was already halfway to his knees; how much more was going to fall before the end of the day?

 

 "Here, kitty, kitty..."

 

 Ramon frowned, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. Had he just heard...? No. No one would be stupid enough to root through the snow to find a cat. Maybe it was the cold getting to him.

 

 "C - Come on, you little shit! Claire's going to murder me...a - and then you...and then me again."

 

 Well...maybe he wasn't hallucinating. Ramon walked faster down the road, stopping as he spotted a figure rooting through the snow-covered bushes outside a tan-colored home. They appeared to be male, judging by the deeper tone, with messy brown hair and clearly they weren't dressed for the weather. All the guy wore was a loose dark green sweater and jeans with his boots. He didn't even have a scarf on! What kind of idiot went outside without any kind of winter clothing to protect them from the cold?

 

 Apparently this idiot did.

 

 "You're _seriously_ looking for your cat in this weather?" He didn't realize he had spoken until the guy swore, straightening and whirling around to meet his gaze. The stranger's cheeks were flushed from the cold already and his arms were tucked across his chest, hands curled into his armpits for warmth. He hadn't seemed to notice Ramon's approach.

 

 "I - I kind of lost my friend's c - cat, actually," he admitted with a sheepish smile. Ramon faintly took note of the dimples framing the brunette's cheeks, the scruffy beard dotting his jawline. "I was watching the cat for her a - and...w - well, I sort of l - let her out. Whoops."

 

 Ramon shook his head. "Dude, you do realize you're going to die of hypothermia if you don't get a coat and gloves, right?"

 

 "I can't lose the c - cat," the man insisted. "It's an in - indoor cat - "

 

 "Screw the cat. You need to get back inside and bundle up!" Ramon was aware that perhaps yelling at some shivering guy he didn't even know when he himself was tired beyond belief wasn't proper etiquette for a first meeting, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He wasn't going to let this poor guy die out in ten degree weather because he wasn't wearing his damn coat. "Come on. I'll help you look if you get back inside, okay?"

 

 The man gazed at Ramon for a few moments, studying him hard for the first time as if he hadn't really noticed the other there. The longer the silence dragged on, the more Ramon worried he would have to catch the guy if he fainted. And then a faint smirk pulled its way onto his face.

 

 "I'm Ezra Buckley. Who're you?"

 

 Ramon rolled his eyes as he trudged over to the man, choosing to ignore the odd warmth tickling his insides. "Ramon Owin. Now let's get you inside, moron."


	7. All of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt (final one, since I was on vacation sadly):
> 
> Character A is a supernatural hunter that’s made a terrible mistake. While attempting to contain a ghost, Character A accidentally permits the ghost (Character B) to enter their body – through spilled blood, fudging up a chant, dropping their protection amulet, etc. – and Character A finds themself fighting for control of their own body.

 "I'm just saying this now, but this is a shit idea."

 

 "Language, Nora," Gia chided without any real harshness in her tone. She didn't look up from the massive book in the center of the living room, humming to herself as she scanned the pages. She was unusually calm for someone who had been hired to contain a poltergeist that had been leaving crude - and not to mention morbid - messages written on the walls. Nora, on the other hand, dug her fingernails deeper into her own arms as she crossed them over her chest. The entire house had been chilly since they'd walked in and she could have sworn she saw one of the doors shut on its own. She didn't like where this was going, she hadn't liked it since the initial phone call asking Gia to come over urgently.

 

 "This is a bad idea. Why can't we just let them deal with the ghost on their own?"

 

 Gia turned to her with an expression that could only be described as appalled. "We're helping Mr. Chu out! He said that his daughter is visiting tomorrow and he doesn't want to scare her with these creepy messages that keep showing up. This is a good thing. How would you feel if you hired someone to mow your lawn and they only showed up for two minutes before leaving?"

 

 Sometimes Nora hated when her best friend was right. "Okay, okay. I see your point - "

 

 "Nora, we came here to help. And that is exactly what we are going to do." The sternness of her gaze bored into the other, the uncharacteristic seriousness displaying how unwilling she truly was to leave. Not for the first time, Nora was irked with herself that she couldn't simply drag Gia out of the situation using sheer strength. Why did this always happen? She  _knew_ something was going to go wrong; it usually did and then she would be left to try and get them out of the house alive.

 

 Ever since Gia had begun performing house calls to help others with supernatural and paranormal issues, Nora had been against the idea from the start. Just because Gia had discovered that magic came easy to her with the help of this mysterious spellbook didn't mean that it was okay to risk her life for clients. Hell, she had a real job that she was supposed to be focusing on! What was Nora supposed to do when one night she didn't come back and her students were without a teacher for the rest of the semester? Maybe that was why she had begun insisting on coming along, to ease the prospect of her friend getting stuck in a bad situation that she couldn't escape from. Not that it meant she enjoyed watching the process Gia went through for each spell.

 

 A breeze slipped through one of the windows, which had been opened just in case the ghost set something on fire (it had happened a couple of times when the lighter was discovered in a panic, though why ghosts wanted to set stuff aflame was beyond her). Nora shivered and wished she had brought her heavier sweater with her. Pins and needles were pricking her skin with dread and she couldn't help but feel as if she was being studied.  _We need to get out of here before something kills us._

 

 "It'll be okay," Gia said, drawing Nora's attention back to the kneeling woman. She realized after a moment that Gia's expression had softened. Her friend knew how antsy she got during supernatural calls and she was trying to reassure her. Nora swallowed down a lump of guilt.

 

 "Let's just get it over with," she murmured, eyes darting to the flickering bulb above their heads. The house lights had been turning themselves on and off since their arrival, and they both knew it was no coincidence. She swore she heard a soft snicker from behind her. When she turned around hesitantly, there was no one there. Of course.

 

 Gia nodded and sent her a reassuring smile before placing both hands on the book. She started whispering in Latin, a spell that the other knew would subdue the spirit enough to convince it to leave - since Gia refused to exorcise ghosts, saying it was the same as killing somebody, which made no sense to Nora but she let Gia do her thing - and as if on cue, the house dropped in temperature rapidly. Nora shifted her weight, fighting the urge to shield Gia with her body when the lights in the house shut off one by one. Every instinct screamed to run. Still, Gia had done this many times now and they both knew what to do if the ghost became more hostile.

 

 The door to Mr. Chu's study slammed shut feet from Nora as Gia continued to whisper, and tendrils of magic crept from the chanting woman's fingertips, her eyes closed. There was a hissing noise above the two now, a clear sign that something was definitely not pleased by what was going on. Nora tensed as the hissing began to form words around them, nearly overpowering Gia's concentration at first.

 

  _GET OUT_

 

_LEAVE ME BE_

 

_GO AWAY_

 

_YOU IDIOTS_

 

"Hurry, hurry," Nora mumbled to Gia, edging closer as the living room light flashed sporadically, signalling the anger of the poltergeist. Nothing was floating around them yet or on fire so they still had a bit of time before the true rage came crashing down on them. The spell still wasn't over yet, though. Gia had a few more lines to stumble through before the end came. Gia usually had difficulty remembering the pronunciation of those last few words.

 

  _GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY_

 

" _Gia..._ "

 

 Said woman waved one hand lazily as magic streamed out of it, encircling the room. The action signalled her hearing Nora and how unconcerned she was about the inevitable explosion from their victim. As the hissing grew in volume, the words sharp and cutting through her core like knives, she wondered if the magic flowing from her friend made her feel more at peace with the situation. After all, Gia always appeared more tranquil when performing magic.

 

  _STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID_

 

 "Oh, shut up," Nora snapped under her breath. While Gia had encouraged her many times not to antagonize any poltergeists, as they took it as a personal challenge, she couldn't stop the well of annoyance in her chest even as the fear of something going awry lingered.

 

 Unfortunately, that was the moment that everything _did_ indeed go snowballing downhill.

 

 The hissing echoing around the two stopped for a second, as if they had heard Nora's irritation, and Gia's soft chanting seemed to slow as she came to the more difficult lines in Latin. Nora wondered if the poltergeist could sense their few remaining moments left, their last chance to screw the two over. The air around them was heavy with cold nipping fingers, the true display of the ghost's anger according to Gia.

 

 And then Nora was blown off her feet by a whirl of wind and fury, words screaming in her ears as her body wracked with shivers and shock, eyes closing in agony. She felt as if she had been thrown into a fire pit and instead of being burned alive, she was enduring ice tearing apart her large form. Faintly, she thought she heard a yell from Gia though she knew the other would never dare to break the spell while being so close to the finish. It was hard to hear anything over the roar of wrath filling her and every nerve was set alight with pain.

 

  _SO STUPID_

 

_YOU WANT TO SEE ME SHUT UP_

 

_TOO BAD_

 

Her hands and legs trembled violently the longer it went on. The cold air tore through any warm clothing she wore, seeking only to rip her to shreds. She couldn't understand what was happening to her, couldn't think straight about anything other than the fact that everything hurt and she was never going to allow Gia to perform magic again if she could help it.

 

  _YOU'RE THE TOUGH ONE HMMM_

 

_HAVING FUN AREN'T YOU_

 

Her ears were ringing, temples throbbing as her mouth opened in a silent scream. God, when would it end? What nightmare had they found in this house?

 

  _LET'S HAVE SOME MORE FUN SHALL WE_

 

 Nora gasped as the pain suddenly vanished, her limbs still shaking as her eyes fluttered open. She lay on the rug on in the living room for another couple seconds, breathing hard, not hearing anything. It was as if someone had flipped a switch in her body and she was unable to hear or move on her own.

 

 Gia's worried face appeared above her. The sight stunned her. Had they finished the spell after all? Why did Gia look so scared? Maybe Nora had just been momentarily paralyzed by the stupid poltergeist. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be. It was going to be.

 

 Something tightened inside Nora's chest, something slimy and coiled together like a snake or a firm hand gripping her heart.

 

  _WOW SHE REALLY LOOKS CONCERNED_

 

_DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD GIVE HER A SHOW_

 

 A cold of a different kind filled Nora's body. What was happening? Why were her limbs moving on their own -  _why was she standing up and grinning down at Gia who was paling more and more by the second?_

 

 Nothing like this had ever occurred during a house call. Nora wasn't sure what Gia could do -  hell, Nora didn't know what  _she_ was supposed to do. None of the ghosts so far had possessed anyone, especially not some crazy poltergeist.

 

  _YOU KNOW THE OLD GUY WAS KIND OF DUMB_

 

_BUT YOU GUYS ARE TEN TIMES DUMBER HOLY SHIT_

 

_DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY EXORCISE A GHOST_

 

 Gia's lips were moving quickly, her eyebrows drawn together as her hands moved to touch Nora. The poltergeist controlling the latter grabbed the smaller hand closest to them and gripped it hard. Nora barely registered any feeling in the palms of her own hands. She wanted to demand that Gia run and leave her here, but at the same time the vice-like grip in her chest was frightening her. It was as if she was being slowly suffocated.

 

  _JEEZ YOU'VE GOT BIG HANDS HA_

 

_EITHER THAT OR SHE'S JUST SUPER SHORT_

 

_AH WELL_

 

_EITHER WAY IT'S HILARIOUS_

 

 Gia yanked her arm out of Not-Nora's grasp and rushed to the spellbook. Hope surged through Nora and she wished she could cheer.

 

  _YEAH THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN_

 

 The poltergeist walked them over to Gia - with extremely unsteady legs - and Nora guessed that her mouth must be moving because Gia whipped around in surprise. A hand shot out to grab the book from her friend but Gia snapped out of the daze quicker than the ghost anticipated, hefting the book with her as she scrambled backwards. Her worry was slowly giving way to a new form of anger that crept into those typically-warm honey brown eyes. The thought that this situation was actually making Gia  _mad_ was a little frightening in itself.

 

  _THAT THING WEIGHS A TON HOW IS SHE CARRYING THAT_

 

_SHE'S A TINY THING WOW DOES SHE WORK OUT OR WHAT_

 

_NEVER MIND_

 

_HER MAGIC ISN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO PERFORM THE SPELL ANYWAYS_

 

_I MEAN IT'S COMING OUT IN TRICKLES INSTEAD OF A RIVER LIKE IT SHOULD_

 

Despite the ghost's dismissive words, they still seemed insistent on getting the book from her. They lunged forward now, a growling sound echoing in Nora's mind when Gia leapt onto the couch out of reach. Her cheeks were flushed with a new kind of rage now, and Nora made a mental note never to make her friend angry like this. (Hell, she never even knew that Gia  _could_ get this mad)

 

 Her lips moved on their own, forming a sneer as the ghost moved to cage the smaller woman against the wall. Gia ignored whatever they were saying, flipping through the book as if their lives depended on it. Which, they likely did. 

 

  _YOU'RE BOTH IDIOTS_

 

_WHO GOES WITHOUT A REAL PLAN TO CATCH A GHOST_

 

_THIS ISN'T SOME GHOSTBUSTERS SHIT_

 

 Gia must have found the answer because her page-turning came to a halt and she spoke faster than Nora had ever seen her chant before. Her brows were narrowed with focus and anger. The poltergeist hissed deep down but there was something almost... _scared_ about it. Triumph filled Nora and she longed to flip the bird at the ghost inside her currently. No one seemed to think that the cheerful Latina was a threat - until they saw her get well and truly pissed about something.

 

 Namely if it had to do with messing with her friends.

 

 Memories of Gia staring down bullies for her, smile in place but a firm steely gleam in her eyes, came to light and warmth filled her heart. The poltergeist seemed to sense this and their panic only grew.

 

  _WAIT WHAT_

 

_WHERE THE HELL DID SHE FIND THAT SPELL_

 

_NO NO NO_

 

Gia continued to chant, her eyes glowing a brilliant gold now, and Nora felt a brief dread fill her. Um... That had never happened before.

 

  _THAT SPELL IS TOO STRONG FOR HER ANYWAYS_

 

_SHE'LL GET TORN APART_

 

_THERE'S NO WAY HER MAGIC'S THAT STRONG_

 

 Terror coated Nora's insides. Oh,  _fuck._

 

 And then an explosion with the force of a hurricane tore out of Gia's body and everything went black.

 

*

 

 "Nora?"

 

 Everything hurt. Her body was on fire.

 

 "Nora? Can you hear me? Oh, please be okay..."

 

 Just five more minutes...

 

 "Come on, I know you can hear me. Please open your eyes."

 

 Why did everything hurt so bad? She had just gone to sleep, right...?

 

 Where was Gia, anyways?

 

  _Gia._

 

 Nora's eyes shot open and she struggled to sit upright, a blind panic settling over her.  _No._ Gia had to be okay, the ghost had left her body so Gia had to be fine. She had to be.  _She had to be -_

 

 "Nora, calm down! I'm right here, it's all right."

 

 The familiar gentle voice brought her attention to the right, where Gia was gripping her arms with worry glimmering in her gaze. Her hair was a mess, strands hanging all over her face, and her hands were shaking slightly. It was then that Nora realized the room around them looked like a war zone. Pictures had been blown off the walls, the couch was halfway to the kitchen, and the light bulb above them was shattered.

 

 Gia's hands weren't trembling, no, Nora corrected herself as the memories dawned on her. There was something else, something warm and bright, thrumming under her fingertips that came from  _inside_ her friend. That thought was somehow scarier.

 

 "The poltergeist left," Gia said, as if Nora cared about the well-being of the spirit. "I think we both blacked out for about half an hour after that spell, and I don't think they stayed."

 

 Good riddance.

 

 "I didn't know I could do something like that." Gia's voice was small, filled with awe and another emotion Nora couldn't place her finger on.

 

 "It was saying that it - the spell - would tear you apart," Nora croaked out. Her voice sounded like a frog had used it for singing lessons.

 

 Gia nodded. For some reason this didn't bother her as much as it should have. "It felt like my insides were on fire - but in a good way. I don't know. I kind of liked it." She paused, meeting Nora's stare again with that usual softness. "I'm just glad you're okay. I shouldn't have let that ghost possess you."

 

 "Wasn't your fault. I kind of told it to shut up."

 

 Gia snorted in a very un-Gia-like way, and it made Nora smile. "Of course you did."


End file.
